Christmas jazz promises wonderful concerts by international and domestic artists
Text Susanna Poikela Photos Sadu-Triste Juurikas, Knut Aaserud, Jazzkaar
The annual Christmas Jazz Festival is underway. In total, there will be 15 concerts in Tallinn, Tartu, and Pärnu before it ends on December 15. In addition to domestic musicians, performers from the United States, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland will all take to the festival stage.
On Sunday, the Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and composer Daniel Herskendal will take the stage at the historical Niguliste Church in Tallinn’s old town. Under the arched vaults of the church, tuba, trumpet, electronic music and vocals will combine in Herskendal’s solo concert “Call for Winter”. His music is described on the pages of Jazzkaar (the organisers of the festival) as “spacious, majestic, and mysterious”.
The composer’s music has also been described as cinematic. Herskedal’s compositions are heard in the movie “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”. And, British Presto Music awarded his 2021 album “Harbour” as the best jazz album of the year.
Next Wednesday, December 6, you can enjoy the music of the American rock legend Prince (1958–2016). Philip Lassiter & JT Conception, Alika, and Uku Suviste will all come together on stage perform the legend’s hits. Prince was a multi-instrumentalist and a composer-musician who freely broke musical and social boundaries. The timelessness of his music and style mixes genres transcends generational boundaries. It is still relevant and attractive. The “Tribute to Prince” concert will take place at Noblessner’s foundry (Noblessneri Valukoda) at 8 pm.
Top Estonian artists Liisi Koikson, Mari Jürjens and Karmen Rõivassepp will also perform at Christmas Jazz. On Thursday, December 7, the women will take to the stage to perform the works of MaianKärmas‘ first album “Tuigutuled”. Maian Kärmas (1978) is an Estonian composer, singer and lyricist. The Estonian Eurovision song “Everybody”, written by her, brought victory to Estonia in 2001. The song was performed at Eurovision by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton.
In total, Jazzkaar will offer 15 wonderful concerts around Estonia as part of the versatile Christmas Jazz 2023 programme. The full details of which can be found in English on the organizer’s website.
To learn more about this and similar topicsBrian Melvin Christmas Jazz Daniel Herskendal Jazz Festival Jazzkaar John Coltrate Philip Lassiter Prince
